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#Finance for Emerging Business Enterprises
=Departments and Programs ==
'''Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship'''
'''Goals of DifferenceMakers:'''
· Introduce all UMass students to creative problem solving, innovation and entrepreneurship
· Encourage a social responsibility ethos
'''DifferenceMaker Available Activities Include:'''<br/>
· '''DifferenceMaker Central-'''DifferenceMaker Central was opened in May 2013. This space is a dedicated entrepreneurial area with a vibrant start-up community atmosphere. The space was made for all entrepreneurial teams to come together to work, brainstorm, and network. Student teams have access to flexible workstations, televisions, computers, mentors, and a dynamic meeting space to develop their ideas and collaborate amongst their teammates and fellow students.<br/>
· '''DifferenceMaker Enterprise Co-op''' '''in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship''''''-'''Throughout each year, DifferenceMakers will hire several students from various majors to participate in paid co-op experiences. Student co-ops assist in conducting and summarizing entrepreneurial research, developing and distributing marketing materials for various center initiatives, and provide center support for faculty and innovation fellows affiliate with the center. <br/>
· '''Freshman Make A Difference Orientation – '''During the summer sessions, DifferenceMaker has a large presence in the Freshman Orientation days. Through the Office of Orientation, Student Activities and Leadership, and ResLife, DifferenceMaker was able to present to every attending freshman and gain exposure to all of the new students at UMass Lowell. <br/>
· '''Freshman DifferenceMaker Convocation-''' At the beginning of each academic year, we present DifferenceMakers to every incoming freshman at Convocation. Each year we perform a fun activity to engage students in our program.<br/>
· '''Introduction to DifferenceMaker-Freshman Seminars-'''A series of in-class discussions in collaboration with the Manning School of Business, The Francis College of Engineering, The College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and The College of Health Sciences in order to introduce the DifferenceMaker Program to students of all disciplines and to inspire them to explore their passions through creative problem solving.<br/>
· '''Introduction to the DifferenceMaker Program-'''A series of events were held on both the north and south campuses to introduce students to DifferenceMaker Program concepts, allow them to share their ideas and interests, explore possible projects and solution, and to connected with each other to form teams. These events included the DifferenceMaker Convocation Pitch, the Climate Change Teach-in, a DifferenceMaker Team Building Dinner, and others.<br/>
· '''DifferenceMaker LLC – '''Having a presence in the student residence halls as well as the classroom is important to motivate students and discover new ideas waiting to happen. The DifferenceMaker Living/Learning Community brings new students together in the ResLife environment for innovation and brainstorming outside of the classroom.
· '''Honors DifferenceMaker Program –''' In collaboration with UMass Lowell Honors Program, this concerted effort to embed elements of social entrepreneurship in our Honors Program includes coursework and community-based student efforts that have specific focus on innovation and entrepreneurial practices.
· '''Digital Federal Credit Union Innovation Contest – Creative Venture Competition - '''In November This contest held in October of 2013, hosted by DifferenceMaker along with DCU hosted an Innovation Contest focusing focused on banking innovation from Arts, Humanities, and financial innovation in Social Science students. $2500 was awarded to the industry. With best entrepreneurial business a grand prize of $500 per team member proposal, and peripheral prizes of $100 per 250 to each finalist team member, the contest gave thousands to innovative teams and cutting edge ideaswas also awarded.
· '''Digital Federal Credit Union Innovation Contest – '''In November of 2013, DifferenceMaker along with DCU hosted an Innovation Contest focusing on banking and financial innovation in the industry. With a grand prize of $500 per team member and peripheral prizes of $100 per team member, the contest gave thousands to innovative teams and cutting edge ideas.
· '''DifferenceMaker Reverse Pitch – '''This pitch event was debuted on November 19, 2013. This event was a spin off of “normal” idea challenges and hackathons. Instead of students pitching their ideas to funding sources or judges, businesses and community partners actually pitched their existing problems to a student audience in the hopes that they can develop a solution. The pitches included Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Lowell Telecommunications Corporation, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell, Catie’s Closet and the Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center. Students will be able to solve these problems and present them at the Annual IdeaChallenge for funding opportunities.
· '''Freshman Business Class-Lego Problem Solving-'''This Lego activity was a collaboration effort between the DifferenceMaker Program and the Manning School of Business to introduce students to the ideation development process and problem solving method, as well as helping them strengthen their ability to work in a team. Sessions were conducted in 9 classes with over 400 students participating. Prof. Deborah Finch of the Manning School of Business led this effort.
· '''DifferenceMaker Workshops-'''In preparation for the annual DifferenceMaker IdeaChallenge, we offer our students a series of educational entrepreneurial workshops throughout the spring semester.
· '''Promoting the Campus Catalyst Program'''-The DifferenceMaker Program works closely with the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, a community business accelerator funded by the Deshpande Foundation, in order to encourage students to generate and develop their entrepreneurial ideas. The Sandbox Campus Catalyst program provided seed funding for student social and business solutions with potential. Catalyst information was provided to students at all DifferenceMaker events. Students also received consultation when applying to the Campus Catalyst Program. The DifferenceMaker application and Campus Catalyst application were similar in content so that unity between these programs would be maximized. CURRENT
· '''TeamMaker Platform''' - Allows students to build their project teams by posting their project ideas and information online where they can then search for “seekers” (students interested in becoming part of a team). On the other hand, “seekers” can utilize the TeamMaker Platform by posting their project interests and skills, and seeking projects/teams to work with. This platform facilitates team formation. CURRENT
· 72 DifferenceMaker events held in inaugural year
· 24 academic disciplines represented by students in the IdeaChallenge teams
'''First Annual DifferenceMaker IdeaChallenge Finalists'''
'''Campus-Wide DifferenceMaker'''
'''DifferenceMaker Future Efforts:'''
In order to assist students to both record and encourage their participation in DifferenceMaker events, they are planning the development and implementation of a DifferenceMaker Passport Program. Consistent with the goals of the UMass Lowell DifferenceMaker Program, the Passport Program will assist students to identify, record and collect experiences meant to:
· Develop individual entrepreneurial identity
· Connect with the University, MV Sandbox and community entrepreneurial ecosystems
They anticipate that the number of students engaged in the DifferenceMaker Program and related activities will increase each year. As they encourage and reward the formation of various types of student ventures and projects, the need for mentors who can consult with student teams will increase. They plan to guide these students and track their progress through a professional Mentor Program. The UMass Lowell Mentor Program will provide a committed network of mentors with a broad set of skills and professional experiences, who can assist UMass Lowell entrepreneurs in developing the knowledge and skills, needed to grow an idea into a successful, new venture.
The DM UMass Lowell Mentor Program will seek to connect DifferenceMaker students with successful experienced entrepreneurs and alumnus, as well as faculty and staff. The Mentor Program will focus on assisting students to further develop solutions as part of the DifferenceMaker Program. Mentors will provide guidance in further refining student team objectives and help them in building their entrepreneurial skillsets.
They are planning to offer DifferenceMaker Faculty Workshops to help faculty consider how they might engage their own students in DifferenceMaker activities through course related activities and through co-curricular activities. Our hope is that by engaging more faculty, they in turn will serve as both mentors and catalysts for students, encouraging and guiding student project selection and development. They have also observed that student teams often need support and guidance from faculty from different disciplines, these workshops and an accompanying seed grant program are meant as catalysts to encourage interdisciplinary engagement among faculty,
While the overarching goal of the DifferenceMaker program is to encourage UMass Lowell students to develop sustainable and entrepreneurial solutions to the challenges and opportunities they will confront in this world, they anticipate another, potentially significant impact on the University community itself. Our students will only be successful if they have the support of faculty, alumni, business and community members. During our first year of program activities, they have found these constituents to be most supportive and willing to mentor and work with our students. Alumni are mentoring and investing in student ventures. Faculty are working across disciplines to ensure their student teams make progress. Local profit and non-profit businesses are eager to work with student teams, providing real-world problems and opportunities for student projects. In one short year, the DifferenceMaker program has been embraced by the greater University community. Our hope and plan is to anchor this program in the curriculum and culture of the University, so all UMass Lowell students have an opportunity to make a difference in this world.
'''DifferenceMaker Contact:'''
[mailto:differencemaker@uml.edu differencemaker@uml.edu]
'''Commercial Venture and Intellectual Property Office (CVIP):'''
Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property (CVIP) is responsible for the protection and commercialization of intellectual property at UMass Lowell.
'''CVIP Mission: '''
'''CVIP Functions:'''
<br/>The main objectives of CVIP are:
· to license patents and other protections to industry in order to promote the development of inventions toward practical application;
'''CVIP--Contact:'''
· Jill S. Murthi, Director of CVIP by email: [mailto:Jill_Murthi@uml.edu Jill_Murthi@uml.edu] or phone: 978-934-4722
· Rajnish Kaushik, Licensing & Business Development Manager of CVIP by email: [mailto:Rajnish_Kaushik@uml.edu Rajnish_Kaushik@uml.edu] or phone: 978-934-4708
'''New Venture Initiative:'''
New Venture Initiative (NVI) is a mix of university resources and equity investment designed to provide a path to and facilitate more start-up activity at UMass Lowell. As part of the larger Commercial Venture and Intellectual Property Office (CVIP), the NVI fund focuses on inventions, discoveries, products and services that have been developed in whole or in part at UMass Lowell, have achieved proof of concept (or an early prototype) and are ready for commercial product development, rather than those requiring further basic research. For more information please contact Nancy Saucier, Director of New Venture Development at [mailto:Nancy_Saucier@uml.edu Nancy_Saucier@uml.edu] or 978-934-3212.
'''Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2):'''
The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) is a lifeline for the state’s smaller medical device companies, offering inventors and executives easy, affordable, and coordinated access to world-class researchers and resources at the Lowell and Worcester campuses of the University of Massachusetts.
'''M2D2 Available Resources:'''
•9000 square feet of space on second floor including:
'''M2D2--Contact Us'''
Stephen McCarthy, Co-Director of M2D2 by email: [mailto:Stephen_McCarthy@uml.edu Stephen_McCarthy@uml.edu] or by phone: 978-934-3417
'''Merrimack Valley Sandbox (MV Sandbox)'''
The Merrimack Valley Sandbox is a project of the Deshpande Foundation, which has encouraged the use of entrepreneurship and innovation as catalysts for sustainable change in the United States, India and Canada since 1996. Deshpande supported centers including the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, the Deshpande Center for Social Innovation in Hubli, India, the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick, and our own Merrimack Valley Sandbox at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The MV Sandbox includes higher education partners (Middlesex Community College, Merrimack College and Northern Essex Community College) and a host of regional community and business partners.
'''MV Sandbox Mission'''
· Leadership-The Sandbox Leadership Institute (SLI) offers leadership development for individuals that live, work or are interested in the communities of Lawrence and Lowell.
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